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1964 Volvo 122S - Amazonian rustforest. Electroshite.


juular

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  • juular changed the title to It began in Afrika / Stirling. 1964 Volvo Amazon 122S, and yes a second Amazon just arrived..

Great news! An engine that runs and an overdrive box will have you well on your way to making it a useable classic.

 

The new tyres on it will be because the oooold crossplies on it were so bad that when I delivered it I temporarily swapped a set to get it rolling. One tube had blown and obliterated the sidewall of the tyre. The buyer had a narrow driveway and a Spitfire to get in and out, so it needed to be rolling. I don't think he got much further than fitting the tyres, by the looks of things.

 

Glad you're keeping the patina! I wanted to keep it looking like that, but with a turbo diesel swap. The original colour is a bit brighter, mind.

 

Glad it's back in the fold! I did break an Amazon a couple of years ago and still have a few bits, if you need anything. I can't recall much missing from that one, I did think the bonnet hinges were missing so I threw in a set from my breaker (red ones) and then found the originals - if you're wondering why it has 2 sets.

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Thanks @warninglight for the offer, I suspect it will be when, not if 😄

Plenty of quality spares coming off this breaker so far, but one of the main advantages is that I can see where everything should be fitted. 

I'm not sure what to do with the shell when I'm done. They are still desirable but this one is quite scarily rotten. I kind of want the running gear as it is in surprisingly good condition but if I take that off, that leaves me in a corner of not being able to roll it / have it collected.

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I've got two priorities at the moment. The first is to get the breaker stripped and punted, as the space I've been given to do this was on the condition that it leaves ASAP.  Secondly I'm going to get the 240 back on the road before I start on the Amazon, because one thing at a time. Plus the 240 has a towbar and the Amazon needs shifted to my own place, so I feel a photo opportunity coming on.

It doesn't prevent me from looking at the Amazon and going 'hmm' a lot, as appears to be the starting point of projects.

It has a complete  B18(A) engine in a rather empty looking engine bay.

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It's seized though, as it has been stored with one spark plug out meaning that piston has stuck in place.

I'm not massively bothered by that, as it's a very simple engine to rebuild plus I now have another that turns over. Regardless, @Lacquer Peelhelped me take the head off so we could get an idea of what's going on.

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The piston at the bulkhead is the stuck one. We put some ATF down it and that'll get left for a while. The bores don't actually look rusty.

The head doesn't look wonderful underneath.

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An acid bath and maybe new valves plus piston rings and bearings may be all that's required to get this engine running, and it can either be a spare or be sold.

Did an initial poke round the underside.

There's no underseal on the car which is a huge benefit actually, as I'd rather clean off surface rust than bitumen.

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As you can see the suspension is in excellent condition.

The floors, maybe not so much.

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Behold the finest bodgery. Structural silicone, rivets, filler and wood screws.

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My initial feeling is there's way less welding work involved in this than there was on the 240.

The plan is to pull the engine, empty the engine bay and strip the paint/ rust, weld up any holes, and give it a coat of enamel before fitting the replacement engine.

Tonight I will be attacking the spares car with a variety of sharp and or spinning tools. Stay tuned.

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  • juular changed the title to 1964 Volvo Amazon 122S, Bran Find
7 minutes ago, Low Horatio gearbox said:

Top purchase('s)  I've window shopped a few recently but  only found exorbitant prices for total projects (i.e  your parts car for.... fhaaassshands of phhands) 

Much like 240s, the prices are largely nonsensical / speculative as if nobody can decide if they're desirable or not. I've seen shells for £10k and tatty ones on the road for £5k.

My project and the parts car totalled £2k which is about the upper limit I'd spend on anything in my life 😄

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Sad car is sad. And there is a lot of bran to find.

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Considering it was essentially scrap money this has been a goldmine.

Overdrive!

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Heated rear screen.

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Twin carb engine.

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Ammeter!

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And the original radio.

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And unbelievably, some spares for a 240 were found in the boot, including the engine crossmember, and a good quality filler neck.

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The crossmember alone is worth more than I paid for this car, they are like unicorn tears now. I had real trouble finding one for my 240 and had to weld up the rusty original.

Stripping it down commenced with the able and very welcome help of @Lacquer Peel and @Split_Pin

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The wiring loom is in amazing condition so I'm labelling every terminal before pulling it out.

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A good haul.

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Engine cran is being very kindly lent by @320touring& @jaypee for more goodies to be removed.

Car is currently sat on stones so maneuvering the loaded crane is going to be interesting*.

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  • juular changed the title to 1964 Volvo Amazon 122S, Bran Find, demolition commences

Seeing the advert above reminds me of the joy of the ignition switch on an Amazon. The one on my estate got progressively worse until I snapped the key. I vaguely recall it having a shielded cable requiring some great Bodger when I replaced the switch with a steering column one from a Cavalier.

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I know you lot probably think it's a load of old crap, but I watched the Wheeler Dealers they did on the Amazon last night.

Whilst they initially threatened to do an entire overhaul, they eventually simply replaced the clutch master and slaves and all the suspension, front and rear, then rocked up with an absolute perfect looking car.

Either way, I very much enjoyed it, and particularly thanks to this thread, very much appreciated the Volvo Amazon.

If anyone has Discovery+, it's season 15 or apparently episode 122. Here's a taster

 

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Finished stripping the donor.

Inside is utterly HOWLING to the point that I have to go for a decon shower every time I go near it, but it has given up a huge amount of spares.

Damp horsehair, mould, nests of varying size, occupant and description.

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Seats, dash, instruments, all excellent

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With a few bushes the suspension could be just bolted on to another car and used.

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Lifting the engine out with the crane failed because of the stones and uneven ground.

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Instead, I rolled a wheel dolly under and made a track of boards.

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Chopped the front of the car off, dropped the engine crossmember and rolled it out.

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@Lacquer Peel helped remove the rear axle. It's only 5 bolts I said.. 

..3 hrs later..

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That's the whole car stripped to the shell. The door handles were seized in place so I cut them off.

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It may not seem it from the photos but every single panel except the roof is utterly ripe.

RIP.

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